Mindfulness: A New Notebook

I’m writing this post on Friday, rather than yesterday because I wasn’t sure what to write about for this week’s Mindfulness, Meditation, Prayer and Planning post. Normally, ideas jump out at me, but not this week, not until today.

This afternoon, my husband returned from a week-long business trip. He always buys us little gifts when he’s away – sometimes is stroopwafels from Amsterdam, but this time it was pocky sticks (for the kids) and a beautiful, beautiful traveler’s notebook (for me) from Japan. To say I’m over the moon is an understatement.

For those not in the know, a traveler’s notebook (aka TN) is a simple leather cover strung with elastic bands which hold several notebooks (aka inserts) in place. The idea is that it keeps everything together and protects the contents from wear and tear while your out and about. I’ve had an A5 TN for about a year. For a while I kept my bullet journal (a Leuchtturm1917), a sketchbook and my Wellness Toolkit in it, but now I keep my bullet journal separate and use my A5 TN for storing sketchbooks and paper samples, so I’ve always got something to hand for drawing or painting on. It’s a neat, simple but addictive system. If YouTube is anything to go by, it’s very easy to get sucked down this particular rabbit hole – you can buy TNs in all sorts of sizes and colours, with and without stitching, with and without pockets, with and without pen-loops. The list goes on.

So what’s this got to do with mindfulness? Well, once upon a time, when I used to write a lot of fiction, I carried a little notebook around with me in which I jotted down my observations with the intention of using them in my writing. I’d see a leaf being swept along by the breeze, and I’d make a note of how it seemed to skip across the pavement like a child on its way to the park. I’d see a punnet of strawberries on a market stall and write a quick line about how they sparkled like jewels in a treasure chest. I’d hear a magpie chattering in a tree and note down how it sounded like machine-gun fire. I’ve not written fiction for quite some time, but recently I’ve felt the words calling me again, and now that I’ve got this passport-size notebook (which was created for the express purpose of being carried about) I’ve got something in which to jot down all those out-and-about observations again. And you can’t observe if you’re not paying attention, and paying attention is the very essence of mindfulness.

Not only will this notebook remind me to be mindful, it will give me somewhere to record the observations of my mindful moments.

And suddenly you know: it’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings. (Meister Eckhart)

How about you? Have you got somewhere special to jot down your obserations?